Hatch Calls for Chairman’s Resignation

Emotions were running high and rhetoric was strong during the public comment period in the county council meeting on Tuesday. There were many more attendees at the council meeting than usual, and outbursts from the group attending were common. All of the comments related to the recent events surrounding the charges filed against former council administrator Garth Day. The council ‘s decision to move forward in taking the steps necessary to fill the position and the position being posted on the county website raised the ire of several of those commenting. Some of the most pointed comments came from Larry Hatch and Judy Carter. Both Hatch and Carter called for Chairman Creager ‘s resignation. Hatch said, Chairman Creager, I wish to direct my comments to you. Before I tell you what business I have on my mind this evening I want to express sincere thanks to you for the time and effort that you have put into serving on the county council. It has been a great personal sacrifice and has had to have had a real drain on your business. For a number of months the burdens have been especially great and I feel you have taken ownership of certain matters to a degree that it has caused you to become over burdened and greatly fatigued. This has brought out behaviors in you that have brought embarrassment to you and hurt to others. I feel that you may have gotten yourself into an untenable situation and that remaining in your position on the county council will do further damage to the relationship of the council with the public and with the people who work for county government. I therefore request that you resign your membership on the council immediately.  Creager responded to Hatch during the council business portion of the meeting and this response can be read in the article Creager Explains Day Timeline and Clashes with Hatch on page 6. Many also expressed that they would like to see the council wait on the decision to hire the council administrator position until the new council takes office in the new year. There were also concerns raised over the salary of the position and a request made to review the decisions made by Day during his employment ,given the allegations against him.